I completed my first test case!

I created a test to check that my singleton object was instantiated (not nil).

I then added a test case that would fail; a check that my NSMutableArray property had 2 items. It failed! I then added code to add two objects to the array, reran my tests and it worked.

I know this all sounds trivial, but I’m trying to follow along with introductory TDD practices first, so that I really learn it.

So I’ve decided to take on a new personal programming project to teach myself the following:

• Test Driven Development Methodologies
• Design Patterns
• Source Control/Build Integration practices
• MacOS/Cocoa/Objective-C programming
• Assembly language programming

I’ve already written some throw-away code to test the waters of MacOS programming.  I have an application that runs (yay!), and when you click on the “open” menu item creates a window with a (customizable) ToolBar.  I played around with some Singleton pattern tests, and after bumping my head on the differences between Objective-C “Class” vs “Instance” methods, was able to create a property of that singleton that initialized itself to some values.

Today, I started with Unit testing.  I found a great document (http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documentation/DeveloperTools/Conceptual/UnitTesting/UnitTesting.pdf) from Apple, about it.  I have setup my test bundle, and added a target to my project.

Tomorrow, I hope to start adding test cases for the next piece of functionality… “PlugIns”

Well, in an ever increasingly difficult to keep up-to-date move, I’ve decided to sign up for Twitter.  Yet another place you can follow my goings on, or lack thereof.

http://twitter.com/mlamb1976

Check the last app in the list… Doubtful that they expected their title to be truncated there.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/7702913.stm

So the repair guys came out and fixed the TV yesterday.  First they replaced the lamp, and then I tried to show them the color saturation issue, and the senior tech thought he saw what I was talking about… so he pulled the color wheel out.

It turns out it was a good thing he did.  The bearings on the one he pulled out (which was the one that was replaced a year ago) were going bad, and you could audibly hear the grinding and see that the wheel was not spinning freely as it should.  Also, it was visibly warped already (probably due to excessive heating from the bearings).

He said that it would’ve most likely disintegrated (like the first one) within a few months.  

So I’m now up and running with a brand new lamp (old one had over 10k hours, which is pretty damned good for a bulb!) and a brand new color wheel.

So far, it does look better… but that could be psychological, because I’ve been watching TV on a crappy 32″ 480i screen for the past 3 god damned weeks!

Anyway, I plan on paying quite a lot of attention to any issues I have with the TV from now on, and if I have any I’m going to harp on the support guys to confirm EVERYTHING so they don’t fuck up again.

Say what you will about the market, but I say it looks like a pretty easy exercise program profile:

Maybe it’s that I surf blogs that cater to this kind of article, but here’s another person not exactly enamoured with the “facebook life”:

http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/80/quit_facebook.html

So, 2 weeks ago (9/25), the lamp on our 56″ projection TV burned out.  Thankfully, when we purchased it we also bought the (normally) worthless “extended service contract”.

Lamp replacements are amazingly covered, so we called up Circuit City’s repair line and asked them to get it fixed.

*Quick side trip for some background info*

About a year ago, the color wheel (it’s a DLP projection screen) disintegrated, and again the service plan covered it (a $750+ repair for no charge).  Ever since the color wheel was replaced, the color saturation has been “off”.  

* Now we return you to your regularly scheduled blog entry*

Since the color saturation has been weird, we thought: “Hey, while we have you on the line, can you also have them investigate the color saturation issue?”

They were more than happy to oblige, and immediately started setting up the appointment.  Unfortunately, there was some confusion (because the lamp is a user replaceable part) on where to send the lamp, and apparently because the color wheel was possibly broken, it has some effect on the lamp, so it was finally determined that the Tech should replace both.  So a call was made, and an appointment was scheduled for Oct 6.

The morning of Oct 6 rolls around, and the service repair company (subcontracted out by CC) calls to confirm the appointment, and they suddenly notice that the repair ticket states that a lamp and/or color wheel replacement part(s) needs to be included. Funny, no one told them to order the parts!  Oh, and by the way, it’s going to take 7-10 days to order the parts.

So, now we’ve been without the main TV in our house for 11 days, and it looks like we’re going to be out another 7-10 days!!!  So we called up Circuit City to complain, and hopefully have them expedite the parts, or do *something*.  Unfortunately, since it’s a subcontractor, they are not able to expedite the parts.  So I asked if they could ship me the lamp, and I’d replace it myself (in the original call, they noted that they could overnight us a lamp – shipping at our cost).  ”Sorry, we can’t do that, because with the color wheel being a problem, it could negatively effect the lifetime of the lamp, and we can’t authorize actions that would impact the supportability of the – blah blah blah… – So the Tech has to replace them both at the same time”.  I suggested that they send me a lamp, and the Tech brings a lamp, and that the lamp be swapped out at that time… but they didn’t bite on that.

“We can’t authorize the cost ($250) of the additional lamp”.  

The only “additional compensation” they *are* authorized to provide is: reimbursement (to the tune of $40 per week for 2 weeks) to cover the cost of a rental TV.  ”This is a courtesy to you, and is not within the confines of the contract.”

So, I call up Rent-a-center… they only rent by the month (not two weeks), at a cost of $125, and I’m responsible for a $650 “security deposit” (fully refundable).  There is no way I’m going to pay $45 for the “convenience” of renting a replacement TV because some idiot fucked up.

Anyway… to make a long story even longer, and wrap up the reason for today’s rant…

The service contractor called today, amazingly they have received the parts (both color wheel *and* lamp)!  HURRAAYYYY!  Television salvation is within our grasps!

“… and by the way, we’re booked up solid, the earliest we can get out to you is next Wednesday.”

 
FUCK!

Happy birthday to me.

http://www.unhappybirthday.com/